Time: Obama's Inconvenient Truths

[Colobo]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1627031,00.html

Obama knows he is not the first to compete in a Democratic primary as the self-styled truth teller against the party's Establishment and entrenched interests. Gary Hart tried it against Walter Mondale in 1984, and in the pre--Sister Souljah months of 1992, Paul Tsongas famously branded Clinton a "pander bear." Bill Bradley and Howard Dean took their turns in 2000 and 2004. Obama says he is well aware of how the approach turned out for his predecessors in the role: "They lost."

But this time, he says, he thinks the result could be different. "The country understands we have a series of choices now that, if we put them off any longer, will be much tougher to deal with, and we may not be able to deal with them at all," he says. "So I think there's going to be greater responsiveness to people who are actually saying what they think." It helps that Obama delivers his truth telling with a heavy dollop of optimism--a politically useful distinction from those truth tellers, like Tsongas, who came across as dour and depressing. And Obama's campaign is counting on the fact that America is different now--that in 2008 the national mood for change will be so powerful that voters will reward candor more richly than they have in the past.

At the same time, Obama is beginning to put forward the sort of detail-laden policy proposals that have been lacking in a campaign that has thus far consisted largely of high-minded rhetoric about the need for a new kind of politics. This week, for instance, he announced a detailed health-care plan that he contends will provide coverage for nearly all the 47 million Americans who lack it and will trim the average family's health-care costs by as much as $2,500 a year. But it fell short of meeting the universal-health-care goal that has become the Democratic Party's rallying cry.

Obama says his political consultant David Axelrod has occasionally felt the need to admonish him and his campaign "not to sit in the middle of the town square and set ourselves on fire." And, he says, "there will be those in my party who resist" his ideas. But, he adds, "there's got to be some element of truth telling in this year's campaign because the problems we face are too tough to try to finesse. If we do that, then we may win an election, but we won't solve the problems." In other words, Obama is betting that Democratic voters will decide winning isn't enough. If he's wrong, he'll end up with his truth-telling predecessors, nursing a moral victory as someone else accepts the nomination.

[silverweb]

1. Bookmarked for after work.

Thanks!

:thumbsup:

[illinoisprogressive]

2. excellent article. This points out the stuff so many misunderstand about him

he pissed people in netroots off but, Obama doesn't like to pander and suckup. He runs as his own person with his own ideas. he has convictions and is not going to sell out to look good.
he knows things are going to be awful when Bush is finally out and that there are ugly things to uncover. Not the right time to pretend utopia.

[illinoisprogressive]

3. K and R

[wtmusic]

4. "there's got to be some element of truth telling"

I, for once, would like to vote for a candidate who is all about truth telling.

[w4rma]

5. I see. Time says that Obama is telling the "truth" to the "confused" Democratic base. (nt)

[MaryBear]

6. So Obama is the truth teller while the other candidates are...

what? I find this stance offensive. I kinda like Obama and would like to see him, Clinton, or Edwards as the Dem nominee. However, his tone implies he is not really ready for the Presidency. The "truth teller" is sounding arrogant, and that is disturbing.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

7. Hmm, the way i read that

was that he simply expects more people will accept candor when talked to this time around and respect it, rather then do what a lot of politicians do and try to soften and/or wrap up the truth so it sounds nicer.

Having followed the news and politics of the US for a while i do agree with him tho, as my general impression has been that very few seems to like being told what problems they face up front and openly

I will however agree that 'truth telling' was a bad choice of words even if i agree with his message

[Colobo]

8. He says he is telling the truth; that doesn't mean others aren't.

[Ethelk2044]

10. He does not sound arrogant what he does sound like

is that he is not a corporate whore. The Lobbyist does not have him in their pockets. He is looking out for our good instead of putting the lobbyist money in his pockets. He is trying to be honest and forthcoming for the American people. I realize we have not had that in a while as a President. He is looking out for us to make sure the middle class is able to provide for their families. He is trying to make sure we are able to afford health care insurance. He is not catering to the oil companies or K street.

[MaryBear]

11. I am wary of a truth teller who

touts himself as a truth teller.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

9. Orwellian

Platitudes become truths.

Truths become lies.

[Grandrose]

12. A old slang of African Americans...

Tell it...like it is!!!

I see no problem with Sen. Obama stating what He sees as truth, either he wins or not. I am sick and tired of politicians telling me what they think I want to hear and not the real deal!
:think: :kick:

[DemBones DemBones]

13. At the beginning of the article,

The opening pragraph talks about other candidates throwing red meat to audiences while Obama has been tossing cold water on them. Not altogether a bad thing.

Quotes:

"It may not be all that unusual for a Democrat to castigate automakers in an environmental speech. But when Obama did the castigating, it was in front of the Detroit Economic Club. Nor did he help his chances of winning the endorsements of the city's big unions by asserting that any aid Washington gives the automakers for their soaring health-care costs should be tied to improving fuel efficiency."

"We anticipated that there weren't necessarily going to be a lot of applause lines in that speech. It was sort of an eat-your-spinach approach," Obama conceded when I asked him about the stony silence that greeted his address. "But one thing I did say to people was that I wasn't going to make an environmental speech in California and then make a different speech in Detroit."

"That kind of conspicuous candor has been part of Obama's campaign since his announcement tour in February. When a questioner at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wanted to know whether he would cut the military budget to make room for other priorities, Obama answered, "Actually, you'll probably see an initial bump in military spending in an Obama Administration" to replace the equipment that has been depleted by the Iraq war and build up the size of the active forces. When a teacher asked him about the No Child Left Behind law that is so unpopular with educators and their unions, Obama agreed that it "left the money behind." But while he endorsed higher pay for teachers, Obama also talked about "the things that were good about No Child Left Behind," including more accountability. By then, his listeners were shifting in their chairs."

"Regarding Social Security, the social program enshrined like no other in the theology of the Democratic base, Obama has said he is open to such politically heretical ideas as upping the retirement age and raising payroll taxes to shore up the system. Before black audiences, Obama regularly condemns violent and misogynist rap lyrics and chastises African Americans for disenfranchising themselves by not voting. In March, Obama caused some consternation among Jewish leaders by saying, "No one is suffering more than the Palestinian people." Given the chance to disavow that comment during a debate, Obama merely clarified it, saying the fuller context included an assertion that this suffering was the result of "the failure of the Palestinian leadership."



I like most of what he says, except raising the retirement age and raising payroll taxes to shore up Social Security. Very bad ideas.

How about doing away with the tax cuts for the highest income groups and reinstating the estate tax? The estate tax only goes into effect when an estate is quite large, it was $2 million eleven years ago, I'd think it probably rose since, but in any case $2 million is a decent inheritance, why shouldn't anyone receiving that much pay tax on it?

I also understand why people were shifting in their chairs when Obama said there were good things about No Child Left Behind, "including more accountability." Everyone knows that demanding more accountability has led to teachers having to spend far too much time preparing kids to take standardized tests. Parents don't like it, teachers don't like it, students don't like it. All deserve better.

Obama promised to raise teacher pay but teachers have heard that before. Too often, promises of higher pay morph into plans that teachers should get higher pay ("merit pay") IF their students score higher on the standardized tests than other classes do. But that fails to take into account so many variables.

Years ago, an NEA president gave a good analogy. He said that if a person goes to a doctor and the doctor prescribes medication but the patient doesn't take the medication, no one blames the doctor if the patient doesn't get well, even dies.
But if a teacher prescribes homework and the student doesn't do it, the teacher is blamed if the student fails the class or makes a low grade. He could have added "Or scores low on a standardized test."

[jcrew2001]

14. Obama can win both Iowa and NH and if that happens

Hillary is toast. I'm hoping Edwards can finish at least second in Iowa though.

[StudentProgressive]

15. What kind of framing is this? How is he challenging "entrenched interests?"

This Superhero-based reporting where every candidate is a messiah come down to save us really has go to stop if we're going to save our democracy.